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Sister Abduction
Location: Vista, California Date: December 15, 1991 Story Around noon on December 15, 1991, Richard Hagemann gave his daughters permission to play outside their apartment. Six-year-old Shannon and her five-year-old sister, Rachel, romped on the grass while Richard sat in the living room and watched television. He kept the front door open to check on them every five to ten minutes. Shannon and Rachel were playing tag when a young man named Douglas Bannat called to them through a large hole in the fence that separated their yard from their neighbor's carport. "Look what I found," he said, sticking a handful of dollar bills through the hole. "I know where we can find more. You want to help me look?" Shannon and Rachel, intrigued by the offer, squeezed through the fence. Douglas cajoled them to go with him to his car, parked nearby. Rachel, who was wary of the situation, lagged behind, but Shannon climbed in the car, coaxed by Douglas' promise of finding more money and ice cream. He informed Rachel that he'd come back for her and started his engine. Rachel ran back to the apartment and told Richard that somebody had taken Shannon. "Where?" asked Richard as he grabbed Rachel and raced to the street. She pointed to the lime-green compact car driving away. Richard ran back to the apartment and dialed 911. As he reported the kidnapping to San Diego County Sheriff's Department Dispatcher Don Bronson, he feared for Shannon's life. He thought of the recent rash of kidnappings in the area and remembered that not one living victim had been found. A "Code Five" was sent over the radio, which means that responding officers would stake out likely areas where the suspect might flee. It is up to the individual deputy to decide his stakeout location, and Deputy Nelson Prosper, one of the responding officers, chose to stake out the Bonsall Bridge, which leads to a rural area. "I tried to put myself in the suspect's shoes," recalls Prosper. "I thought, 'If I wanted to get away, which way would I go?'." Prosper took up his position and within fifteen mintues observed a small lime-green car. As it came closer, he noticed a child sitting in the passenger seat. He thought this could be his man. His adrenaline started pumping. "For guys like these," he explains, "you don't know what they're capable of--killing the cop, killing the kid, whatever it takes to escape." Prosper followed the car over the bridge and flashed his lights, which made Douglas pull over and Prosper approach him. He asked Douglas what his relationship was to the girl and he nervously said she was a friend. Prosper knew right then that this was his man, then ordered him out of the car and handcuffed him. Prosper comforted the little girl, whom he confirmed was named Shannon, and who was now crying for her daddy. "It was like I was picking up one of my own," recalls Prosper. "I almost cried, telling her to calm down. You get that big knot in your throat. It was incredible." Douglas was taken into custody, convicted of kidnapping and child molestation, and sentenced to seventeen years in prison. Richard praises police for having done such an excellent job. He thinks it's a miracle that Shannon was found within a half-hour of his call to 911. "It's hard to describe how you feel getting a loved one back after a kidnapping," says Richard. "You have your child back and are going to make sure she's safe for life." Shannon's mother, Mary, feels very lucky that she was returned. The incident has taught her that she can't be too cautious. "No matter where you live, or how many times you tell your children not to talk to strangers, they are still children that are still susceptible," she says. Rescuing Shannon is one of the highlights of Prosper's years of service. "As long as I live, I'll remember this part of my law enforcement career for one of the greatest feelings--being a cop and doing something good for a kid. That's what it's all about." Category:1991 Category:California Category:Kidnappings Category:Holiday Category:Christmas